The present invention relates generally to the manufacture of candles and more particularly to a method of imparting color and/or fragrance to candle wax.
Owing perhaps to its ancient heritage or to the relative ease with which raw materials may be obtained, commercial candlemaking remains profitable, at least for some, even when conducted on a small, local scale. Machinery and mass production have not replaced manual techniques completely, especially where variously scented and colored candles are made from a single batch of candle wax.
In the past, candle wax was scented or colored by mixing the selected ingredients with wax in its unformed, molten state or by dripping formed and hardened candles in a solution of dye, pigment and/or perfume. The relative superiority, or inferiority, of these methods depended upon the ingredients to be added. Substantially more dye or pigment, for instance, had to be added to molten wax to obtain the same color provided by surface coating. On the other hand, it was preferable to add a perfuming agent to molten wax rather than to the surface of a preformed and hardened candle because surface evaporation would eventually eliminate the scent of a surface coated candle.
The present method combines some of the aesthetic properties achieved by mixing coloring or scenting agents with molten wax and some of the economy achieved by adding these ingredients to hardened, molded candles. This combination is accomplished by mixing the coloring and/or scenting agents with relatively small, uniform pieces of hardened wax. The treated pieces of wax may then be compression molded or otherwise formed into free-standing or container-filling candles. Unlike the molten wax mixture, only the particles' surfaces and in some cases, inner portions immediately adjacent thereto are able to absorb the coloring and scenting materials. And, unlike dipping shaped and hardened candles in the desired ingredients, the present invention provides treated wax that may be formed into a candle whose perfume or tint are more uniform throughout the candle. Thus the appearance and odor of candles made with wax that is treated according to the present invention are enhanced over those of a dipped candle without requiring the amounts of coloring and fragrance found in candles whose ingredients were added in the molten stage.